Simone Cipriani founded and manages the Ethical Fashion Initiative, a flagship programme of the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations and of the World Trade Organization. Simone Cipriani has made it his mission to build a more responsible and sustainable fashion industry, by transforming it into a vehicle of poverty reduction and of empowerment of women, throughout the developing world. The Ethical Fashion Initiative enables artisans who live in marginalised conditions, in Africa (Burkina Faso, Mali, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda), the Caribbean (Haiti) and Asia (Afghanistan and Nepal, soon also in Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), to become regular suppliers of international fashion and lifestyle brands, thus reducing poverty and empowering large numbers of women artisans. Since its inception, the initiative has also evolved to work with emerging African designers to promote their talent at an international level and thus to support more forms of Made in Africa production. The Ethical Fashion Initiative has created a training centre for African migrants and for refugees in Italy and is now engaged in a large project aimed at addressing the root causes of migration to Europe from Africa. A multitude of international brands including Vivienne Westwood, Mimco, Osklen, Karen Walker, Brother Vellies, Camper, Chan Luu, Edun, Stella McCartney, United Arrows, Fendi, Elitis work with the Ethical Fashion Initiative and its partners.